Stitched strawberry tutorial!

Hi everybody,

 

Today I bring you a summery (even though it keeps on raining!) tutorial on how to make a stitched strawberry :0) 

 

As I mentioned I made them with my textiles club and they are very fun and easy to make, I made all of these in just over an hour:

 

 

I am going to show you how to make the traditional style choc dipped strawberry in the picture- but as you can see you can get creative and pretty much use any scraps of fabric you have to get make crazy coloured berries!

 

To 'get your fruit on!' :P you will need:

•  Any old off cuts/scraps of fabric (In red, green and brown if you want the choc-dipped strawberry)
• Embroidery threads/cottons in different colours- depending on your chosen design
• A small amount of toy stuffing
• Scissors
• A needle
• A ruler for measuring
• Craft glue- optional (you can choose to glue on the stalk/chocolate decoration if you wish)
• Pinking shears- (optional)

And here are the steps:

1. Take your main chosen fabric and cut a semicircle of diameter 4 inches (10cm).

 

 

2. I you are making a dipped strawberry cut out a piece of your chosen dip fabric similar to that shown in the picture (otherwise just skip this step and follow the rest as normal for a plain strawberry):

 

Then fasten this to the main strawberry piece either using a small amount of craft glue or little stitches along the top edge of the dip piece (don't worry about down the sides or along the bottom- these are fastened later when you sew up the side)

 

3. Take a few strands of embroidery thread or doubled up sewing thread in seed colour and sew little seeds all over the main strawberry piece (you can do this after making the strawberry if you wish but it can be easier for fastening the thread if you do it now as you can use a knot hidden on the back to fasten the stitching).

 

4. Now you should have something like this:

 

5. Fold in half with right sides facing inwards.

 

6. Now using a matching colour thread sew little running stitches all the way from the base of the strawberry all the way along the curved edge slightly in from the edge. Stop when you reach the top edge- don't sew along the top, just leave the needle and thread attached at the corner as you will be using this to fasten up the top later.

 

7. Turn your strawberry the right way out and stuff until it is nice and juicy! :oP

 

8. Next using small running stitches again sew all the way around the open top edge and then pull gently to gather up and then fasten off the thread so the top is closed securely.

 

9. Take your stalk fabric and cut about a 1 inch by 1 inch square using pinking shears (3.5cm x 3.5cm)

 

You can then cut out further little triangles from the edges of the square to create a realistic looking stalk:

 

Alternatively if you don't have pinking shears you can just experiment cutting out different star style shape pieces for stalks, or just cut a normal square and then cut extra triangles until you are happy with the effect

 

10. Finally sew your stalk to the top of your strawberry over the gathered area using a matching coloured thread and small stitches in the centre of the stalk piece (alternatively you can glue it on if you wish)

 

And Viola!

 

You have your own piece of fruity loveliness:

 

Each one you make is always slightly different- just like the real thing, which is part of the fun :P

 

And now you can keep going and make tons more if you want- they can be little gifts, decorations, made into accessories etc... I think I am going to try putting several in an old jam jar and putting a bit of ribbon round the top- I think that would look very pretty :)

 

 

I hope you like the tutorial :D

 

See you all soon,

 

Byeee xxxx

 

P.s. If anyone makes some of the strawberries and wants to send me a picture I would love to see them (iitki@hotmail.co.uk) and if anyone thinks of any more cool ideas on how to use them please do leave a comment- I have made quite a few so any more ideas on how to use them would be a help!

 

Bye :-P

My lovely class :)

Hello,

 

Today was my last ever day at 6th form (just my exams to go in a month and then I am off to uni!).....

 

...... and also my last ever day of the textiles club I run for the Year sevens at the school.

I have been running it for a few months and a lovely little group have been coming, we have made pin cushions, fabric flowers, ribbon flowers, stitched heart decorations and cards and I have had a really great teaching them :)

 

Today I brought some lollipops for them and we made stitched strawberries as our finale project. I was blown away though as they had got together and made me this fabulous card and bought me a sewing kit and scissors too, and some of them had made me extra little handmade gifts too!

 

Look, look, look!:

 

 

Hehehe, the strawberry on the keyring is what we were making today (if anyone wants a tutorial for the strawberries I could post one up- they are very easy- you can let me know :)

 

I have started using this pin cushion already :-)

 

The gifts and card are so amazing, I love them soo much- and my sweet little class :o)

 

The sewing kit will be coming to uni with me- I'm sure it will come in very handy as it seems to have everryyythinggg!

 

See you all soon- I feel emotional again!,

 

Bye xxx

Hamtaro and friends!- adorable but forgotten

Hi,

 

A while ago now I discovered the little Japanese hamster character Hamtaro (Illustrated by Ritsuko Kawai) but recently I did quite a bit more research and watched some episodes of it and found out he had a whole host of adorable friends too- and I got a bit addicted!

 

Image from: here

 

I searched on Ebay and managed to pick up this little Hamtaro Ham Ham house playset which came with tons of figures, oooh I love it :3

 

 

I was sad to find out though that Hamtaro is a bit of a forgotten character- I don't think any episodes are being made any more and pretty much all of the official Hamtaro products are not being produced anymore :(  (That's why I was so happy I managed to pick up my little house!)

 

But Hamtaro and friends are way too adorable to be forgotten!

 

As I say I got a bit addicted and..... here's the result...

 

 

Crochet hamster faces! :P They are so fun to make- I made up the pattern a couple of days ago- eventually I want to make the whole crew (so far I have only done Hamtaro, Bijou and Cappy :)

 

Hehehehe :P I'm off to make another couple now!

 

Lol, see you all soon,

 

Byeeeeeee xxxxxxxx :)

Sunday Style

Hi guys,

 

I am back with another of my Sunday outfits to show you all :) This week I wore the corset style bodice I made for myself and went for the long blonde curly wig I got recently to go with the goldy-orange in the print of the fabric. On Sunday morning i had a bit of a dilemma though as I realised I had no bag to go with my outfit so I got down to it and managed to whip up a little clutch in matching fabric in about an hour before we went out :P

 

Here is me in my look :-):

 

 

And here is a close up of the little clutch (it is lined with the same lining as the bodice):

 

This is the back of the bodice- it laces up with dotty ribbon:

 

The bodice is inspired by the creations of Stephanie- the dressmaker at the place I work on Saturdays. I am pleased with the fit overall and I have also learnt about how to make it fit even better next time so it is win win really!

 

I'm off now to carry on working on my latest little cute crochet project (coming soon :P)

 

I hoped you enjoyed seeing my latest outfit as 'Sunday Style' is hopefully to become a rather regular feature as I mentioned alst time :)

 

See you soon,

 

Bye XxXxX

Plush Toy/Teddy Trainers! - Tutorial :D

 

Hi everyone :)

 

Finally the time has come for the tutorial I made for the project I finished recently- some cuddly toy shoes!

 

On a Japanese fashion programme I watch on NHK I saw someone wearing a pair of these panda shoes:

Image from: here

 

I though they were pretty cool but I wanted a different colour and maybe a different animal on the front. However when I looked such up I could only find the panda pairs... so as usual when I can't find what I want I try making it instead :-)

 

Here are my version of the plush toy trainers:

 

 

They are quite simple to make and by making your own you can pick your colour of trainer, your animal or toy and even your style of shoe- hi tops or converse style etc.. meaning that you end up with a SUPER cool pair of trainers that definitely no one else will have! (And probably for a cheaper price- The shoes only cost me £4.50 at a discount sports shop near me and the toys were only 99p each from a card shop near me- bargain! :0)

 

 

Now if you like funky footwear here is how to make your own :D

 

...You will need:

 

• A pair of shoes (hi tops or converse are most suitable- but you could experiment if you wish :)
• Two small cuddly toys
• A stitch un-picker/stitch ripper
• Scissors
• A needle and thread (in matching colour to your toys/shoes)
• Pins
• Any extra decorations you wish

 

 Steps:

 

1. Take your toys and using the stitch un-picker, un-pick the arms

 

 

leave the stuffing inside the arms and remove any bits of remnant stitching from where you unpicked them

 

2. Take your scissors and cut round the head of your plush, about 1.5cm or so down from the  head/seam edge

 

once again leave the stuffing inside

 

3. Using your needle and thread, sew around the edge of the head and gather up to about the point shown below- not all the way closed but enough to reasonable secure the stuffing and tuck the cut edge underneath the head of the toy.

 

4. Pin the head into the centre of the trainer tongue- not to low down as you still need to be able to lace up our shoes to about two below the top on the eyelets (see pictures for reference)

 

sew all the way around the edge trying to catch the underneath of the head and just the top of the tongue so that the stitches cannot be seen (on either side)- but make sure the head is securely fastened.

 

4. next pin the arms in position either side of the head, again on the tongue and sew similarly to fasten into position.

 

Repeat  for both trainers, and viola! You are done and are ready to hit the streets:

 

You can experiment with adding extra decorations or even adding the feet or any tails from your toys too if you want, by again just pinning and sewing them in position - Have fun and be creative!- WOW people with your shoes! (I might sew the feet sticking out the back on mine, like the lions are jumping through the shoes- but I haven't quite decided yet :P)

 

I did put these little stars and lion buttons I had on though, just to complete the customised look :):

 

 

I hope you all liked the tutorial :-)

 

(If any of you do make your own I would love to see cool/cute pictures, you can send them to: iitki@hotmail.co.uk)

 

See you soon,

 

Byeeeeeeeeee XXX

KCBWDAY7: Looking Forward

Day Seven (Sunday April 28th): Looking ForwardOne year from now, when the 5th Knitting and crochet blog week rolls around, where do you hope your crafting will have taken you to? What new skills, projects and experiences do you hope you might have conquered or tried?

This could be anything from mastering a technique (broomstick lace, entrelac, etc), trying a new yarn or skill, or a long term wish to crochet only from your stash, or knit every stitch in one of the Harmony Guides. Maybe you have no desire or plans for your craft at all, no new element of knitting or crochet that you dream of mastering, in which case write about why that might be. In a year's time participants will be asked to look back to see if they achieved any goals, no matter how general, and see which house conquered the art of looking forward.

Hi, welcome back for the last day of KCBW4!

 

This year the things I would like to do are:

 

• Try crochet intarsia (I've been saying I will for ages!)
• Make an item of clothing using knitting/crochet (as normally I make little toys or accessories)
• Try some more knitting with dpns- I have only done it once!
• Do some free form crochet/knitting; I might make the free from crochet vest I designed for the mascot project as part of this KCBW :)
• Design and make more of my own cute toys :3
• Try some more cable knitting- I have done it a few times but am not a master yet :P
• And finally- my last aim is to just keep exploring the yarn crafts and try out more techniques and skills that maybe I haven't even heard of yet!

Thank you all for joining me for this KCBW and thanks to Eskimimi Makes for coming up with different post challenges and running the blog week again :-D

 

See you soon (the tutorial I have been mentioning is coming up next!)

 

Bye xxx

KCBWDAY6: A Tool To Covet

Day Six (Saturday April 27th): A Tool To Covet Write about your favourite knitting or crochet (or spinning, etc) tool. It can either be a tool directly involved in your craft (knitting needles or crochet hook) or something that makes your craft more pleasurable – be it a special lamp, or stitch markers.

Is it an item that you would recommend to others, and if so for which applications/tasks do you think it is most suited. Conversely, do you have a tool/accessory that you regret buying? Why does it not work for you?

Hi again!

 

I have decided to dedicate my tool post to my humble pair of size 4mm knitting needles and my 3.75mm and 3.5mm crochet hooks, and here they are:

 

I chose my 4mm knitting needles as they are a size I have used for many, many projects. They are a size that feel comfortable to hold in the hand and use and are also the size I always seem to require when I do charity knitting :) For these reasons I have developed a love for this  specific pair!

 

I chose these two crochet hooks specifically as they are the sizes I most often use in my projects so, I suppose in a way they hold a lot of memories :0) All the little amigurumis, crochet hearts, flowers, gifts etc...

 

Hehehe, who ever thought some metal sticks could bring so much happiness, even by just looking at them! :-)

 

See you all tomorrow for the finale of knitting and crochet blog week,

 

Bye xxx